Nothing Stays the Same
by bogart
Summary: Both Kenzie Pheleps and Evan Malfoy have recently moved from Romania to Britain. They are trying to survive their first year at Hogwarts. Their main problem? He goes by the name of James Potter. Next Generation Fic. Pre DH. WIP.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey. This story is a bit of a different one. It takes place about 100 years ahead of where the last Harry Potter book left us. I promise that if you just stick with me for a few chapters, you'll like this story.

Chapter 1:

Ten year old Mackenzie Pheleps woke up one morning in June, got out of bed, immediately tripped over her dog's tail; falling flat on her face.

"Get off Mountain," she laughed. The white collie ignored his master's attempts to push him away.

After several more licks across the face, Kenzie finally got the dog to let her stand. She picked up the two photographs that had fallen off of the nightstand when she had so gracefully gotten out of bed.

The first photo was of a boy with shaggy dirty blonde hair and light blue grey eyes hidden behind a pair of thin glasses. He was making a funny face that caused Kenzie to laugh every time, but that wasn't unusual. Evan could always make her laugh, that's why he was her best friend.

The other photo was of her father. He was holding Kenzie's two year old self. This was favorite picture of him; it was taken just two months before he died.

Sighing, she carefully set both photos upright. She missed both of them.

Glancing out her window at the Carpathian Mountains in the distance, Kenzie could tell that it was late in the morning.. Her mother had probably gone to work already. Sure enough, Kenzie found a note on the table when she wandered into the kitchen.

_Kenzie,_

_Sorry I had to leave before you got up. You're to go to Grandpa's house today. Behave and leave that dog of yours here. You know Grandpa doesn't like him. Uncle Jared should be here around 4. When you get home today, clean up the potions mess in the basement. See you when I get home._

_Love,  
Mom  
_  
Kenzie read the note twice and stuck it in her back pocket. "I don't wanna go to Grandpa's," she complained to the empty kitchen. She loved her grandfather dearly, but his house was so boring.

Kenzie glanced down the stairs to the basement, eyeing the mess with apprehension. She groaned. _Why_ had she experimented with ingredients that were sure to blow up?

A thump from the corner of the room interrupted her complaining. Turning around, she laughed when she saw it was only her dog flipping over his empty food dish.

"Okay Mount, I get the idea," she said, shaking her head as she went to find the dog food.

A half hour later, Kenzie was almost ready to leave. She had fed the dog, dressed, and packed a small bag of things to do, including the new potions book Uncle Jared had bought her over the weekend and some parchment and a quill so she could write to Evan.

Kenzie had just put a whimpering Mountain in the backyard and was heading for the front door when the fireplace roared to life.

A/N: Just take a minute and click that little button at the bottom of the page and leave a review. I don't care if it's even a one word review. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Ok, I know it took me a long time to update this. I just forget to update on here often.

"What?" Kenzie muttered as she ran back towards the living room. She saw green flames spinning in the fireplace. In a matter of moments, a tall girl stepped out of the fireplace.

"Briana!"

"Hib Kenz," said the girl. "Sobby for sewing up lide dis. Brad decided tod play a joke ond me. Hed put dat stupid cat ib my room."

Kenzie smirked. That sounded like something that Briana's younger brother would do. Their family cat, Midnight, loved Brad, but unfortunately, Briana was allergic to it.

"It's okay. Are you going to stay for awhile?" she asked hopefully.

Briana sneezed and shook her head. "That's better," she said, her voice clearing. "No, I can't stay. Mom has us cleaning today. I just came over here so I didn't murder that cat, or my brother, for that matter." 

Kenzie's face fell. "Oh, alright. Don't get to mad at Brad. He's only having a bit of fun."

Briana rolled her eyes. "Fine. I don't see why you're always defending him like that."

Kenzie just shrugged her shoulders.

Briana caught a glance at the small clock on the wall. "Shoot," she muttered. "Mom's going to notice that I'm gone. I better get home. Thanks for letting me over here." As she was saying this, Briana stepped into the fireplace once more.

"No problem. Bye" Kenzie said, watching green flames yet again envelop her friend. 

David sat lightly dozing in his favorite armchair. It was early afternoon and he was expecting a visitor. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, waking him from his slumber. David grabbed his cane and slowly walked from his library to the front door. When he threw it open, his 10 year old granddaughter came bounding into the house.

"You won't be needing that," he said, noticing the bag in her hand as he shut the door.

"Why?" she questioned.

"Because," he said slowly. "We're going to be exploring the attic today." David chuckled to himself as he watched Kenzie's eyes go wide. Without a word, she dropped her bag and ran up the steps, taking them two at a time.

"What should we look in first?" Kenzie asked, trying to take a look at everything in the room at once. 

David eased himself into an old rocking chair in the corner. "Any box you want," he replied.

She eagerly pulled the first box over to her grandfather. "Photos," she said when she opened the box.

David smiled as he pulled some of the top ones out. "Look here," he said, pointing at two small children in the first photo. "This is your mum and Jared outside of our old house in America."

"Uncle Jared was that small?" Kenzie asked, amazed that her tall uncle could have been that tiny.

David nodded his head. Together, they went through the large box of photos. There were pictures of Kenzie's grandmother and of her two aunts, who lived in Russia, along with many more of her mother and Jared. Finally, as they were reaching the bottom of the box, Kenzie pulled out a very old looking photo. She could tell it was a wizarding picture, because some of the people in it were attempting to wave at them, but most of the magic had worn off. The edges of the picture were yellow. In the photo were two boys, about 15 or 16, and two girls whom Kenzie guessed weren't much older than her. Also, there were 4 gentlemen in the picture. Two of them had glasses, though one was much older than the other. He had graying hair. One of the other gentlemen had jet black hair. The fourth one had brown hair and didn't seem to quite fit.

There were three women in the photo. Kenzie didn't recognize any of them. There was an older lady who could have been the oldest man's wife. The other two were considerably younger, probably about her mother's age. One had short red hair and the other had long blonde hair. Kenzie turned the photo over. It seemed that someone had written names on the back of it, but many of them had faded out. She could read a few of them: Isaac, David, Nicole, Harry, and Wes.

Kenzie was very confused. David was her grandfather's name, but she didn't know anyone in the photograph. Who were those people?

"Grandpa, look at this. Who are these people?"

David took a glance at the photo. He sat very still, as though he was thinking about a faraway time. "Grandpa?" Kenzie asked again.

David shook his head and turned to his granddaughter. "That's nothing." he said as he put the photo in his pocket. "Why don't you go find another box for us to look in?" Kenzie looked into his eyes. They were clouded over. After a moment, she nodded.

When Kenzie left, David left out a small sigh and pulled back out the photograph. He didn't want to have to explain to Kenzie who those people in the photograph were. She was too young to understand, to young to know what he had done and why.

"Look at this Grandpa!" David quickly placed the photograph back into his pocket. Kenzie came running over.

"Look at these mirrors. They look exactly alike."

David smiled. "Those are special mirrors. I've had them for years. Here, I'll show you how they work. Go downstairs and say my name into the mirror."

Kenzie gave him a questioning look, but did what she was told. A few moments passed and then suddenly, her face appeared in David's mirror. "Hi," he said.

"These are so cool, Grandpa. What exactly are they?"

"Two-way mirrors" he replied. "If you say one person's name into the mirror, as long as they have the other mirror, you'll be able to talk to them."

"Wow! That's amazing!"

"Come on back upstairs now."

David heard the sound of thundering feet running up the steps. Kenzie came bounding over to him and handed back the mirror. He ran his hands over the handle a few times, and then, handed the mirrors back to Kenzie. "You keep them. I don't have a use for them anymore."

"Really? Thanks Grandpa!" Kenzie threw her arms around her grandfather.

David chuckled. "You're welcome. And now, my dear," he said, pulling out his pocket watch, "I believe that it is nearly time for you to go home."

"Do I have to go home? I had fun today."

"Yes, you have to go home. Jared is going to wonder where you're at."

Kenzie sighed and started down the steps. "I guess you're right, Grandpa, like always."

"I'm not always right."

"Name one time."

"That, I'm sorry to say, is a story for another time."

Kenzie grinned at him, and then carefully placed the mirrors in her bag. "Thank you for today, Grandpa." 

"You're welcome. Now, you be good for your mother."

"I always am."

David smiled and said goodbye once more before shutting the door.

Kenzie sighed happily as she walked; the sun slowly setting behind her. She had had fun. This had been the first time since before Evan had moved away that Grandpa's house had been interesting. When Evan was around, and Grandma was still alive, she would go over to their house almost every day. She and Evan would talk to Grandpa for hours, hearing stories about dragons and learning some simple spells. Grandpa had always believed that they should learn to defend themselves at a young age. Grandma didn't like it so much, but she let the lessons continue. As for Grandma, she would read them Muggle fairy tales that were almost as interesting as Grandpa's real life stories.

Then things had changed. Grandma died and Grandpa completely stopped everything. She and Evan still went over almost everyday for awhile, but Grandpa sat there, in his favorite chair, not talking. Eventually, it became too much for them, and she and Evan started going there less and less. She felt bad about doing that, but it wasn't fair to them. After Evan moved away, she started going there more often again. Grandpa became more open but today was the first day he really seemed back to normal, like he was before Grandma died.

Kenzie grinned, thinking about her new mirrors, as she pulled out her house key and opened the door. As she entered the house and turned out the light, a tall man apparated into the room.

A/N: Please take a moment and review, please.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here's chapter 3. I'm not getting a lot of feedback on this story. Do you guys like it or do you want me to stop writing it?

* * *

Kenzie barely nodded hello to the man that had just entered her home and went outside go get Mountain.

"What? Don't you even want to say hi?" asked Jared.

Kenzie grinned. "Not really." she replied as she gave Mountain a fresh bowl of water.

"But…but….."Jared whimpered. "I'm your favorite uncle."

"You also happen to be my only uncle."

Jared stuck his tongue out at her. "Fair point."

"I win."

"Do not."

"Do too." Kenzie retorted as she walked through the small house to her bedroom.

Jared let out a cry of frustration. "I don't see why I even argue with you. When is your mother getting home?"

"You argue with me cause it's fun. And Mom should be home in a bit." Kenzie yelled as she carefully set her new belongings on her dresser. She slowly started taking the rest of items out of her bag; she was in no hurry to clean the basement, when there was a knock at her window. Opening it, she saw a coal black owl standing on the ledge with a letter tied to its leg. She recognized it immediately as Evan's owl.

"Come on in, Godric." The owl hooted gratefully and hopped through the window. Kenzie dug around under her bed for a moment. Finding what she was looking for, she stood up and untied the letter. Kenzie noted it written in Evan's messy handwriting. She shoved it into her back pocket and handed the owl a treat from the box she had been searching for moments earlier. Godric hooted thanks and flew off again.

With Mountain following close behind her, Kenzie walked back towards the kitchen where she saw Jared sitting at the table with one hand on his head and a piece of paper in the other. He looked up when she entered the room.

"Looks like this note your mom left says that you have a mess to clean up in the basement."

Kenzie sighed. "Yea, but you know, " she said, giving him her best puppy dog look, "if you happened to go down there and let's say, just wave your wand and clear the mess, it would a lot easier on the both of us."

Jared tried to hold back a smile. "I don't think so. Last time I did that, your mom was mad at me for weeks."

"Well, it was worth a shot."

"That it was. Now go on, get to work. If Megan comes home and sees you in here talking to me and not cleaning, heads might roll."

Kenzie smiled at the thought, but did as she was told. Mountain followed her most of the way down the steps, but stopped when he started to get near the neon green goo.

"Smart dog," Kenzie muttered, staring around at the mess. Green slime covered most of the table and a good portion of the floor, all a result of yesterday's "mishap". Carefully, trying not to slip, she walked over to the storage closet. In it, there was an assortment of supplies, ranging from books to umbrellas to dog bones to cleaning supplies. A person could get lost in there. Kenzie pulled out a bucket and a sponge, trying not to knock anything out of the closet.

"Ouch!" she yelped as three books fell on her head. Upstairs, she heard voices. Mom must be home, she thought.

Kenzie carefully placed the books back and filled the bucket with water and a special cleaning soap used for potions messes. As she scrubbed the floor, she could hear her mother talking about something. Work, most likely. Megan Pheleps was a healer in the Burn unit of the local hospital. Almost every day she dealt with hundreds of burns that people received from the wild dragons. It was gruesome work, but she liked it.

Uncle Jared, on the other hand, had a cool job. He worked with the goblins at Gringotts. Kenzie loved to hear the bed time stories about the mysterious things that lived in the tunnels under the bank. She had been hearing those stories for as long as she could remember. When her dad died, Uncle Jared started spending more time with her. He was almost like a second father.

Kenzie stood up and surveyed the room. There was no green goo on the floor or the table anymore, but there was a ton on her, she quickly realized as she looked at her clothes.

"Yuck." she said with distaste as she tried to wipe the slime off of her t-shirt. Not succeeding, she decided to just let Mom deal with it.

"Hi Mom." Kenzie said, running into the kitchen.

"Hi Mack- what on earth happened to you?" Megan asked as looking at the green mess she called a daughter.

"Um, cleaning the basement?" Kenzie replied sheepishly.

Megan just shook her head and gave her wand a wave. In seconds, Kenzie was clean again. "Now, come on, sit down and eat." Kenzie now noticed the plate of chicken sitting on the kitchen table, and her uncle sitting there waiting rather impatiently to eat.

"What did you do Kenzie? Just roll around on the floor until all the goo was on you?" Kenzie shot her uncle a glare, but otherwise ignored him.

"How was your day at Grandpa's?" Megan asked.

"Fun." Kenzie replied as she slipped a piece of meat under the table for Mountain. "We explored the attic."

"Don't think I didn't see you do that. And you," Megan rounded on her brother. "Don't encourage her to feed the dog at the table."

Jared quickly pulled his hand out from under the table and gave his sister his best innocent look.

"Don't give me that. I saw you do it. Why do I even let you in this house?"

"Cause you love me?"

"No."

"Cause you care about your favorite and only brother?"

"No, wrong again."

"Um, cause you know that I would come here anyways, so it's just easier to let me in voluntarily?"

"That sounds close."

Kenzie took this opportunity to sneak the dog another piece of food. Megan didn't notice this time, but Jared did. He gave her a wink. "So," he said loudly. "Do you know what the goblins were complaining about at work today?" He went on to tell them about how some goblins had been complaining about unfair wages. They were thinking of quitting, but Jared didn't think that this was likely to happen.

After dinner, Kenzie cleared the table while Megan went off to do some paperwork she had brought home with her. Kenzie heard her uncle turn on the television to the Muggle news. It appeared as though he was watching it, but she knew it wasn't true. She could see him staring intently at a piece of parchment.

"Whatcha looking at?"

Jared jumped and quickly folded the parchment up. "Nothing."

"It didn't seem like nothing."

"It was nothing, alright!" He stalked off into the kitchen. Kenzie didn't see what good that would do. From her seat on the sofa, she could see him perfectly. He was seated at the kitchen table, the piece of parchment laying in front of him. Snapping of the television, Kenzie stuffed her hands in her pockets and headed off to her room to read. That's when she felt what she thought was a piece of paper in her pocket. Remembering Evan's letter, she ran into her bedroom to read it.

_Hey Mack,_

_All's quiet here in sleepy old Godric's Hollow. Nothing exciting ever happens here. Maybe you can come visit. Or better yet, you could move up here. Yeah, right. What are the chances of that happening? Oh, this one is even better, maybe Dad will get a transfer back to Romania. That would be awesome. I bet I could get him to do it too. Just need to do a little brainwashing first. He's in love with Britain, I swear. _

_How are things with you? How are Brad and Briana? I wrote them, but I keep getting odd replies. They are both trying to write on the same bit of parchment and keep crossing out whatever the other said. I can't exactly read most of their last letter. There's too much ink on it. Is Mountain being a good dog? Cookie is doing fine. She's the only friend a got up here right now. _

_Alright, I hear Dad downstairs yelling at some diplomat. I better go see what's going on. Write back soon, please._

_Your bestest friend, _

_  
Evan_

_P.S. - I got my Hogwarts letter yesterday. _

_P.P.S. - I wish I could go to school this year with you and Briana. _

_P.P.P.S- The kids here are boring. _

_P.P.P.P.S. – Cookie says "woof."_

Kenzie reread the letter twice and pulled out a piece of parchment.

_Hiya Evan, _

_Don't call me Mack! I'm fine. Everything's the same here, the dragons are fire breathing, Brad's still pulling jokes, and Briana still complaining about Brad. You're not missing much. You're father's in love with a country? That's just scary. _

_Nothing to exciting is going on here. Yes, Mountain is being a good dog. You got your Hogwarts letter? Awesome. Don't worry about not having friends yet, I bet you'll meet some new people at school. I'll talk to Briana and Brad and see if they can write you a decent letter for a change. _

_Oh, guess what? Grandpa gave me these cool mirrors. Too bad you're not here to test them out. When Briana and I try them out, I'll tell you all about it. Maybe Mom and I can come visit over Christmas. I'll bring them then. _

_Your bestestest best friend, _

_Kenzie_

_P.S- You don't want to go to school with us. Hogwarts will be much better. _

_P.P.S. - Mountain says "woof" back at Cooke. _

Kenzie folded the letter up and ran into her mother's room. "Mom, can I borrow the owl?"

Megan raised an eyebrow, but nodded her head. "Letter to Evan?"

"Yep." Kenzie replied. "Come here, Zeus." The brown owl held out its leg and Kenzie tied the letter on it. "This goes to Evan, got it?" The owl hooted and flew out the open window.

* * *

Again, if you don't like it, or if you do like this story, just leave me a little review, please. It helps me tell if people are interested in this story or not. 


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry about not updating this. I forget to update on this site alot. I'll try to get a few chapters up today. **

* * *

"Fish."

"Hippogriff."

"Where?"

"Right there," Kenzie said, pointing at some obscure figure in the sky.

It was a warm, sunny afternoon several days after her visit to David, and Kenzie was in the backyard of the Elliot's, laying on her back and staring at the white fluffy clouds.

"I don't think that looks like a hippogriff," Briana argued.

"That's cause you don't have an imagination," Brad yelled from across the yard. He was on the swing set, Midnight sitting on his lap as his swing went higher and higher. Kenzie had brought Mountain along and he was currently sitting under a tree, staring suspiciously at the cat.

Kenzie smirked at Brad's comment.

"Who asked you?" Briana retorted.

"Ignore him," Kenzie said.

"If I must."

"Yes, you must." Their arguing reminded Kenzie of something. "I got a letter from Evan the other day."

"Really?" asked Briana as she sat up and dusted some grass off of her shorts. "What did he say?"

"Nothing much. He got his Hogwarts letter and he was really bored."

Briana nodded.

"And he wanted to know how you and Brad were doing."

"We write him letters."

"On the same bit of parchment. It looks more like an inkblot than a letter when you two are done."

Briana sighed. "I get your point. Me and Brad will start writing separate letters."

"Good," Kenzie replied. "Glad that's sorted out. Now- Oh, guess what I found at Grandpa's house the other day?"

"What?"

"These mirrors that let you talk to another person through them. Sort of like Muggle walkie talkies."

"Muggle what?"

"Never mind, the point is that we can use them at school." Kenzie's eyes were shining mischievously.

"I like the idea, but Mom would notice."

"Mom would notice what, Briana?" Mrs. Elliot appeared behind the girls. She was going to be a teacher at their school this year.

"Nothing, Mom."

"Better be nothing. I don't need you getting into trouble at school, young lady."

"I won't, Mom. Don't worry."

"Somehow I doubt that," Mrs. Elliot replied. She glanced around the backyard. "Now how come your little brother is playing by himself? Go play a game with him."

"Do we have to?" Briana whined.

"Yes, now go," Mrs. Elliot commanded before returning back inside the house.

"Aww, come on Briana, it won't be that bad," Kenzie said as she dragged her friend across the yard.

"Says you."

"Hey Brad!" yelled Kenzie. "Wanna play a game?"

"Sure!" he replied before jumping off his swing and landing flat on his feet, something Kenzie was sure she would never be able to do without fear of breaking her arm. "What game?"

"I don't know. Anyone got any ideas?"

"No," Briana mumbled, still mad.

Brad smiled sheepishly. "I don't have any ideas either."

Kenzie thought for a few moments, trying to think of a game they hadn't played before. "I've got one, I think. Grandpa told me that it was really popular in America when he lived there. I think it's called baseball. One person hits the ball with a stick and runs around the bases while the others try to tag them with the ball. Or something like that. I don't remember the exact rules."

Brad looked a tad skeptical. "Well, it's worth a shot, I guess. I'll go find us a ball and stick."

"And I guess me and Briana will get bases."

Brad ran off into the house while Kenzie and Briana went off into the garage. The Elliot's garage was a mess of toys and outdoor games. They dug around in it for several minutes before finding what they needed. They went back to the backyard with a baseball cap, two plastic kites, and an orange cone. Kenzie had just finished setting up the field when Brad came running back into the yard.

"Ball," he said holding up the orange. "And stick," he continued, tossing Briana the broom.

"That works," Kenzie said as she took the orange from Brad. "Now, that's first base," she pointed at the baseball cap, "and you just run in a circle around from there."

"That doesn't sound to hard," Brad commented as he got prepared to bat. Kenzie threw the orange and Brad swung the broom and hit the orange a few yards forward. Kenzie ran up to grab it as Brad took off running. She turned to run towards first but saw he wasn't there. Confused, she looked around the yard and found Brad standing on third.

"How did you get there?"

"I ran."

"Which way?"

"From home to here."

"Did you go to the hat first?"

"No."

Kenzie rolled her eyes, but didn't correct him.

The game continued like this for the rest of the afternoon. At one point, Briana whacked herself in the head with the bat. The game had finally ended when Midnight had run off with their ball.

"Good idea Kenzie," Briana said as they walked back to the house, Mountain following behind. Brad had gone off to find Midnight.

"Thanks," Kenzie replied, smiling. "Grandpa does have good ideas occasionally. I think I'm going over to his house tomorrow. I'll ask him for more game ideas then."

"Great. Cause that one was fun. I wonder what else we could play."

"He mentioned football one time, but from how he described it, it sounded kind of violent. People tackle each other."

"Brad would love it."

Kenzie laughed. That was true, Brad would love it. "Too bad I have to go home," she said.

"Yea, but I'm sure that Mom will let you stay over sometime soon."

"I hope so. If not, you can come over to my house."

"Deal."

Kenzie went into the kitchen to tell Mrs. Elliot goodbye.

"Goodbye, dear," Mrs. Elliot replied as she stirred a pot on the stove. "Tell your mother I said hello."

"I will."

Kenzie said bye to Brad and Briana before flooing back home.

"That's odd," she muttered as she stepped out of the fireplace into the mostly dark house. The only light was coming from the kitchen.

"Kenzie, is that you?" Megan yelled from the kitchen.

"Yes," she replied as she followed the sound of the voice and saw her mom sitting at the table, her head in her hands. "Where's Uncle Jared?"

"Kenzie, sit down." Megan motioned to the chair across from her. "I have something to tell you.

"What?" A thousand horrible ideas ran through her head.

"Grandpa died today."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This chapter might turn some people away, I realize that. Just keep with me and all will be explained, eventually.  
**

* * *

"Grandpa's dead?" Kenzie whispered.

Megan nodded. Slowly, Kenzie got up and walked down the creaky hallway to her bedroom where she flopped down on her bed.

"Dead," she said aloud to the empty room. It was hard…so hard…to believe that he was gone. Mom had told her months ago that Grandpa was sick, but she'd never thought he would go and leave her so soon. _I'll never get to see him again,_ she thought. Never was a long time. He'd never tell her stories about dragons again or show her around the attic or even tell her that he loved her. _It isn't true_, she thought stubbornly._ I just saw him last week and he was fine, so there's not way he's…he's…dead._ Even though she thought this, Kenzie knew in her heart she was lying to herself. Mom wouldn't say it unless it was true. One tear slide down her face but she wiped it away impatiently. She didn't cry, she never cried! Why start now?

Something cold pressed against her hand. Kenzie looked down and saw Mountain pressing his nose against her hand. She climbed down off her bed and sat on the floor, just petting her dog, not feeling anything. Kenzie sat there for rest of the night, just staring off into space.

The next few days leading up to the funeral were a blur to Kenzie. People she didn't even know where stopping by the house to tell her mother how sorry they were to hear about Grandpa. Kenzie couldn't handle their sympathy, so most days she hid in her room with Mountain. Mom had let Briana come over one day, but that hadn't worked to well. All Briana wanted to do was talk about the death and Kenzie wanted to avoid the subject altogether.

The funeral was small, just herself, Mom, Uncle Jared, and a few close friends of Grandpa and the family were there. Kenzie didn't remember much about the funeral except everyone seemed want to say something and that she didn't cry at all. She was the only one. Even Uncle Jared cried. That scared Kenzie a little; she had never, ever seen her uncle cry. Her mother had wanted her to say something at the funeral. Kenzie had said no, but gave no reason.

Grandpa was buried next to Grandma in this little cemetery outside of town. It was a nice place, shaded and very pretty, with flowers growing all around. Kenzie knew she would never visit this place again. She had only been here once before, when Grandma died. Mom had brought her after the funeral. Mom came and visited every year, but Kenzie always refused to join her.

The last person had finished speaking and people had begun to leave. Mom and Uncle Jared were doing what adults do, telling everyone thank you and saying goodbye. Kenzie sat under the tree not far from the grave. She desperately wished Evan could be there. He would make her feel better.

"Kenzie!" Uncle Jared called, standing by the car that would take them home. Everyone had finally gone.

"Coming, she sighed, standing up and turning her back on the cemetery. As she walked between the graves and got into the car, a light rain began to fall.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon nearly 3 weeks after the funeral and Kenzie and Brad were in her backyard playing with Mountain. Mrs. Elliot had taken Briana shopping for new clothes.

Things were better for Kenzie. Grandpa's funeral was more of a distant memory for her, even though there were some days where all she could think about was him. Mom was still upset, and though she tried not to show it, Kenzie could tell. Uncle Jared and Mom were trying to figure out what to do with Grandpa's house and it was frustrating them. All in all, though, life was slowly going back to normal.

"Kenzie!" Megan called out the open back door.

"Be back in a moment," she said to Brad. "What's up, Mom?" she saw her mother was holding a letter in her hand.

"I just want to tell you that when Brad goes home, I need to have a talk with you, alright?"

"Yea, okay," Kenzie replied puzzled. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, fine. Go ahead and go back to playing."

"What was that 'bout?" Brad asked as he yet again threw a stick for Mountain to chase.

"Nothing," Kenzie replied, shaking her head.

"You okay?" Brad asked. "You haven't been exactly the same since…since…well, you know."

Kenzie smiled. "Yea, I'm fine. Don't worry bout me."

"If you're- HEY, Mountain, come on boy, bring the stick back!"

Kenzie looked up to see Mountain lying under the tree, the stick long forgotten. "Give it up, Brad, you know he won't get up again."

Brad watched the dog yawn once before falling asleep. "Suppose you're right. Now what?"

"Well, we could try out this new potion I found the other day, but if you don't want to try and blow up the basement, that's fine."

"No, no, sounds fine," Brad replied, grinning.

The two spent the rest of the afternoon experimenting with potion ingredients in the basement. Sadly, they didn't blow up the basement; they didn't even make a mess. Kenzie was shocked when her mother yelled down the steps that it was time for Brad to go home.

"That was fun," Kenzie said, wiping a bit of red slime off of her cheek.

"Yea, next time Briana will have to help."

"She'll definitely cause an explosion."

Kenzie laughed at this. She watched Brad leave before going into the kitchen. "So, Mom, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Megan was standing at the counter, cutting vegetables. "About two weeks ago, I got a letter in the mail, from Britain."

"Was it from Evan?"

"No, it was a letter saying that I was now the owner of a house there. I guess Grandpa had a house there."

"I never knew that."

"I didn't either, until last week. Anyways, Uncle Jared and I talked about it and we've decided what to do."

"What are we going to do with this mysterious house?"

"Well, the "house" is more like a mansion, and we're moving there."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

"What do you think?" Kenzie asked the dog sitting on her lap. They were sitting under the tree in the backyard, watching as the sky got darker and darker. Mom had told her a little while ago the news and ever since then, she had been sitting out here. The dog gave her a questioning look.

Kenzie sighed. "I don't know what to think. I don't want to leave Briana and Brad, but then again, we're going to be closer to Evan. I don't know if I should be happy or sad bout this. This is so confusing!"

Mountain gave Kenzie's hand a sympathetic lick on the hand.

"Good dog," she muttered, scratching him behind the ear. "I guess I better tell my friends. Who should I tell first, Evan-"

Mountain barked.

"Or Briana?" Kenzie finished. "I guess Evan it is. Come on, boy." She stood up and went to her room, Mountain trailing behind. She pulled out a piece of parchment.

_Hey Evan, _

_I'm thinking that you must be a Seer or something. You know how in one of your letters that I should move up there? Guess what? It happened. Mom inherited this house and we're moving there in a few weeks. I haven't told Briana or Brad yet, so I don't know what they think. And I don't know what's going to happen about school this year. _

_I'm happy that we're going to be living closer to you. Seeing you will be better than sending letters back and forth. _

_See you in a few weeks, _

_Kenzie _

Kenzie went into her mother's room, gave the letter to Zeus and sent him on his way.

"I guess I have to tell Briana now." Kenzie said to no one in particular.

Mountain barked again.

"Be quiet Mountain." She muttered to her dog as she poked her head into the kitchen. "Mom, I'm going to use the fireplace for a few minutes."

"Alright." Megan replied, stirring a pot on the stove. "Dinner will be ready soon, so don't take too long.

"I won't" Kenzie mumbled. She had this sinking feeling that the conversation she was about to have wasn't going to be a good one. She grabbed a bit of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace before she stuck her head in. "The Elliot's" she said as clearly as she could. The fireplace spun around her. Oh, she hated this sensation. Within a few moments, things slowed down and she had a view of Briana's living room. "Hello?" she called. She heard footsteps approaching.

"Kenzie! Hi!" Briana's face appeared.

"Hi" Kenzie replied, doing her best to sound cheerful.

"What's the matter?" Briana could see right through her act.

"Um, well, I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"I'm sort of moving in a few weeks."

"To where?" Briana did her best to sound normal, but failed miserably.

" Britain." Kenzie shut her eyes and prepared for the worst. She wasn't disappointed.

"WHAT? Are you serious? Not you too!"

"Briana, calm down, I-"

"What's going on?" Brad appeared next to Briana, looking questioningly from Kenzie to his sister.

"SHE-" Briana yelled, pointing at Kenzie, "is moving away!"

The smile on Brad's face disappeared immediately. "When?"

Kenzie sighed as she watched Briana leave the room. "A few weeks from now."

"Where?"

" Britain."

Brad ran a hand through his hair. "Alright."

"Are you mad?"

"No, it's not your fault. It's not like you said that you wanted to move. Why don't you let me talk to her," He said, jerking his head in the direction that Briana left, "and you can try to talk to her again when she calms down a bit."

"Thanks Brad." Kenzie pulled her head out of the fireplace. That had _not_ gone how she had hoped. She didn't think that Briana would be so upset. She had expected a little sadness, but getting mad with _her_ was out of hand. Kenzie heard her mom call her to dinner. She replied that she wasn't hungry. With that, she went to her room to try to forget that horrible conversation.

The next week was busy. Kenzie was busy trying to pack most of the stuff in the house while her mom kept traveling back and forth between the house, Britain, and Grandpa's house trying to get everything sorted out. Most of the stuff from Grandpa's house was getting moved up to Britain with them, so they could sell the house. Uncle Jared was going to be staying in Romania until he could get his work to transfer him to London. This worked out perfectly because he could stay in Romania until both houses and his apartment were sold. He hoped to be transferred to London by Christmas.

Briana still wasn't talking to her. Brad had said that he'd talk to her, but it didn't seem to go well. Briana refused to listen. Kenzie knew that her friend tended to overreact a bit, but this was a little over the top, or so she though. Kenzie really didn't want to move away without fixing things with Briana. This whole argument was ridiculous.

Little by little everything seemed to come together. Kenzie somehow got most of the house packed. Uncle Jared had helped her one day by doing a bit of magic. Mom had gotten most of the stuff sent to Britain and had put both houses up for sale. From what Kenzie had heard, the new house was huge. It was finally the night before the move and Kenzie was sitting on the bed of her almost bare bedroom, staring out the window, Mountain asleep at the end of the bed. A knock at the door disturbed the silence.

"Come in." she muttered.

"Hey" Uncle Jared said, pushing the door open and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Hi."

"You okay?" he asked.

"I guess." Kenzie replied, still not looking at him. "I'm excited about moving, but at the same time I'm sad. I grew up in this house. This is the only placed we've lived in. Dad lived here. He didn't live in the new house. It's sort of like I'm leaving him behind."

Jared put his arm around Kenzie. "Look at me," he said. "You are not leaving him behind. You still have memories of him and a ton of pictures. Just as long as you remember him, you aren't leaving him behind. I'm sure if he was here right now, he'd want you to be excited about this. He wants you and you and your mom to be happy. He wouldn't like to see you this sad right now"

Kenzie gave her uncle a small smile. "Thank you, Uncle Jared." she said as she gave him a hug.

"You're welcome Kenz. Anything else buggin' you?"

"Just one more thing, Briana is still not talking tome."

"Oh, that. I wouldn't worry bout that. She'll come around eventually."

Kenzie yawned. "If you say so."

"I do." He said, standing up. "Now get some sleep, you have a busy day tomorrow. Good night."

"G'night." Kenzie mumbled to her Jared as he turned out the light and shut the door_. I hope he's right….about everything, _Kenzie thought before she fell asleep. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

"Kenzie, you almost ready to go?"

Kenzie was in her room, checking for the 10th time that she hadn't forgotten anything. "Yea-" she started to say, but a sharp rap at her window got her attention. She could see Godric, who was carrying a package, outside. "Come here, Godric. Glad to see that Evan hasn't forgotten my birthday."

The owl hooted. "Sorry," Kenzie laughed as she untied the package, "I don't have any treats for you today. I'll make it up to you some other time." Godric nipped her finger once before flying off again.

Kenzie opened the package and found a letter, a case of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and a new picture of Evan. She smiled. "Just like always," she muttered. Every year, he gave her the exact same thing, but that was fine with her.

_Kenzie, ___

I hope this letter gets to you before you leave or else I think Godric might be a little mad with me. Happy Birthday! I hope you like your present. I had the hardest time picking it out. Be careful with the Bertie Bott's; you don't wanna get a vomit flavored ones. I hope that you have an awesome birthday, Mack.

Evan

P.S. - Don't let Mountain get a hold of the candy. You remember what happened last time.

"Bri, you can't stay mad at her forever," Brad whined. He was sick of his sister being upset with Kenzie.

"Don't call me that," she growled. "And I can stay mad at her for as long as I want."

"You know it isn't her fault. It's not like she asked to move. And she won't be gone forever. We'll still get to see her and write her letters and stuff. Mom said that we can go over there for a few minutes today to say bye. If you don't apologize to her now, she's going to be gone and you're going to lose a friend."

Briana sat there thinking about what her brother had said. He was right, of course. It wasn't Kenzie's fault. It was just that this was almost like 2 years ago, when Evan left. Now Kenzie was leaving and all she was going to be left with was her brother. "Fine, alright," she muttered.

"Really?" Brad asked in surprise.

"I swear that sometimes you're not 9. You're smarter than most munchkins your age."

Brad gave a mock bow. "Thank you. Now, come on, if we don't get there soon, they're going to be gone."

"Are you ready to go yet Mom?" Kenzie was lying in the middle of the living room, bored. Her mother was going around the house once more making sure that everything was gone. There was a knock at the door.

"Who would that be?" Kenzie wondered as she got up from her spot on the floor. "I've got it!"

She opened the door to find Briana and Brad standing on the doorstep. "Hi," Kenzie said lamely, letting them in the house.

"Hi. Happy birthday!" Brad said cheerfully. "We just wanted to say bye before you leave us forever."

Kenzie rolled her eyes. "I'm not leaving you forever, you know that."

"Whatever you say. I'll remember that you said that. Now, I think my sister has something to say to you."

Briana kicked her brother. "Er, yeah, listen, I'm sorry, Kenzie. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you. It's not really your fault. And now Brad and I have a better reason to go visit Evan, cause now you're going to be living up that way too!"

Kenzie laughed. "That's one way of looking at it. And to tell you the truth, I would have been mad if you had told me you were moving, so I guess we're even." She could see her mother waiting by the fireplace, just about ready to go. "Listen, looks like we're leaving in a minute-"

"So, we'll be going," Briana finished, starting to pull her little brother towards the front door. "Promise you'll write."

"I promise."

"And promise we'll get to visit," Brad added.

"You will, don't worry."

"Bye."

"Bye. And Brad," she whispered to him as he was leaving, "thanks."

He gave her a smile. "No problem."

"Mackenzie, time to go."

"Alright."

The new house was huge. Kenzie figured that out the moment she set foot in the place. There were three floors. The main floor had 2 libraries, 4 different sitting areas, an entrance hall, a dining room, and a kitchen. The second floor had 7 different bedrooms. The 3rd floor was an attic, filled with boxes. Kenzie could barely begin to imagine what was in them.

Kenzie felt bad for Mountain. He kept getting lost in the house, so she had to tie a bell to his collar so she could find him. He had tried desperately several times to get it off from around his neck, but failed miserably.

Kenzie had taken to exploring the bedrooms. All the rooms in the house were fully furnished, so there were plenty of things to look at. One day on her exploration, she opened a door to a blue bedroom. It looked like it would have belonged to a teenage boy. On the walls were old pictures of Quidditch teams. There was a desk in the corner of the room. Kenzie started looking at the contents of the drawers. In one of them there was a pile of half finished homework assignments; the name on them was David Sandford.

"Wow," Kenzie said in amazement. This had been her grandfather's bedroom from when he was a kid. As Kenzie continued to look through the drawers, Kenzie found old candy wrappers, broken quills, and bits of parchment. One thing at the bottom of the last drawer caught her attention. It was an old photograph. It was a picture of an older man with round glasses and dark hair that looked like it was starting to turn gray. On his lap he held a little boy about the age of 3. Kenzie guessed that the little boy was her grandfather. There was an older woman standing next to them holding a baby. The couple looked too old to be her great-grandparents, so Kenzie guessed they were her grandfather's grandparents. Kenzie pocketed the picture and planned to ask her mom about it later.

In the closet, she found a box labeled 'Hogwarts'. In it, Kenzie found a collection of spell books. She also found a piece of very old blank parchment. With it was a smaller piece of parchment with 2 lines of text on it: "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good" and "Mischief managed". Mom had told her early that week she would be going to Hogwarts, so Kenzie decided that she would have to take this with her and see if she and Evan could figure out what it was.

As she thought about Mom and Hogwarts, Kenzie wanted to know when they were going to Diagon Ally to get her school supplies. She found her mother in the library, trying to get some of the dust off the shelves. "Mom?"

"Hmmm?" Megan replied, dusting a table.

"When are we going to Diagon Ally?"

"Well, we can go tomorrow, if you help me clean today."

Kenzie eagerly agreed to help, excited at the idea of going to Diagon Ally tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: New chapter. You meet quite a few new characters in this one. If anyone wants, I can put a character list up for this story in my profile. Enjoy! **

* * *

Chapter 8: 

"Where should we go first?" Kenzie asked excitedly. Diagon Ally was full of activity. Witches and wizards of all shapes and sizes were busy shopping. Colorful signs hung outside of shops and displays of goods could be seen everywhere.

"How about you go get your wand and I'll meet you at that bookshop over there?" Megan said.

"Um, alright." Kenzie replied, a little confused. Why wasn't Mom going to come with her? "See you in a bit then." She added before she bravely pulled the door to the dusty shop open. A bell rang when she did so. Inside, the shop was poorly lit, but she could see a tall young man standing with 3 younger boys, one of which was waving a wand. The older man looked up at the sound of the bell.

"Be with you in one moment." He said with a smile before turning back to the boys. "Now, Mr. Potter, give that one a good wave."

"Bet this one won't work either." The second boy muttered.

"Shut up Tyler." the raven haired boy with the wand replied. 

"Ignore him James." the 3rd one cut it as he smacked Tyler in the back of the head.

"Oww," Tyler muttered. "That hurt Ryan. Come on, James, let's get on with it then."

The boy nodded and gave it a good wave. A red light was emitted from the wand tip.

"Well, well, that looks like the one." The shop owner said. "That will be 11 sickles."

The shop bell rang again. Kenzie turned and saw yet another boy standing there. "You three almost done?" he asked the others.

"Yes, Scott." Tyler replied. "We're just leaving now.

As the boys left the shop, the owner turned to Kenzie. "Hello. My name's Mr.Ollivander. Come here to get your first wand?"

"Ye-es" Kenzie stuttered. She didn't know why she was nervous.

The shop owner gave her a small smile before handing her a rather short wand. "Try this." Kenzie did as she was told, but nothing happened.

"Very well. Try this" Mr. Ollivander said, giving her another one. This processed continued several more times.

"Fine, try this one." he said, irritation slowly starting to creep into his voice.

As soon as Kenzie touched the wand handle, warmth spread through her fingers and up her arm. Waving it once, the stack of wand boxes fell over.

Mr. Ollivander grinned. "That there is a 12 inch willow with unicorn hair in the core. It's odd because that boy right before you got a wand almost exactly like that. And he gave me problems too." 

Kenzie just nodded. Mr. Ollivander ignored the lack of an answer. "11 sickles then."

Kenzie quickly payed him and with her new wand in a box she headed to the bookstore where she found her mother waiting with a large stack of books. "Got your wand?"

"Yep."

"Good. I've got the books, but I thought you might like to pick out one new book to read."

Kenzie agreed and ran off to find a book. She found a rather interesting one on vampire and had rounded the corner to find her mom when she ran into something causing her to go flying backwards on the ground.

"Watch where you're going." The thing she ran into barked.

"Sorry," she said quickly, standing up. "I didn't mean to-" The boy lying on the ground was the same one, James, from the wand shop. He was feeling the ground for his glasses. "Here." Kenzie said handing them to him.

"Thanks" he muttered. "Just watch it next time." He gave her one last glance before heading off.

Shaking her head, Kenzie picked up the book and continued on her way. It was odd, seeing that boy twice in one day, one right after another at that. The next stop for school supplies was Madame Malkin's. The shop wasn't busy, so it didn't take long to get robes. Megan suggested they stop for some ice cream after they got some potion's ingredients.

"Mom," Kenzie couldn't help but asking as they sat down at one of the tables outside the ice cream shop. "Why didn't you come with me to get my wand?"

"Nobody ever told you about the family tradition?"

Kenzie just shook her head.

"Well, Grandpa said that his family did it to him, and Uncle Jared and I had to go through it too. Whenever you go to get your first wand, you do it by yourself."

"Why?" 

"I really don't know. I suppose it has something to do with growing up and getting your wand by yourself shows responsibility. That's my opinion at least. Grandpa never did explain it very well. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. I was just curious that's all. It seemed odd to me." Kenzie paused. "Can I ask one more question?" 

"Shoot kid."

"Can we go to that joke shop?" Kenzie was pointing at Weasley Wizard Wheezes with a bright red sign hanging over the shop.

Megan laughed. "I was waiting for you to ask that. Yes, we can."

Kenzie ate her ice cream at a record speed and ran over to the shop. It was filled with customers and jokes of every shape and size. Kenzie wandered around the shop in awe. There was so much stuff. She couldn't even begin to imagine what types of tricks some of it could be used for.

"Can I help you?" a voice behind her asked.

Kenzie turned around. A boy about her age with curly brownish red hair was standing there. "Do you work here?" she blurted out.

"Not technically." he said with a smile. "My dad-" he said pointing to a man in purple robes running the cash register, "owns the shop. I just help out or at least until school starts I do."

"You go to Hogwarts?" 

"Yep. My name's Adam Weasley. I'm a Gryffindor 2nd year."

Kenzie looked confused. She hadn't done any research on Hogwarts yet.

"What's your name?" Adam asked.

"Mackenzie Pheleps." She replied. "Just call me Kenzie though."

"And you can just call me Adam." Kenzie rolled her eyes at this. "Now back to my original question, do you need any help?"

"I don't think. I'm just looking."

"Just looking? Well, let me point you in the direction of a few things to look at. This," he said holding up a small jar filled with glittery white powder, "is Vanishing Powder. You put it on an object and the object disappears. Only lasts about 10 minutes though."

"Cool." Kenzie said. "What are those?" There was a large display of blue and yellow boxes in front of them.

"Ultimate Joke Kits. The blue are the original. They have Skiving Snack boxes, Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, a Headless Hat, Extendable Ears, and a few fake wands." Adam rattled off. "The yellow ones are the New Ultimate Joke Kits. They have all the same stuff that the Ultimate Joke Kit has for the most part plus the Invisibility Powder, a few fireworks, and a Trick Snitch."

"Trick Snitch?"

"Yea, whenever it's about to get caught, it disappears and reappears on the other side of the field. Impossible to catch unless you're wearing the proper glove that stops it from disappearing."

Kenzie laughed. "I feel bad for the seeker's that try and catch the thing."

"Yea, so do I." Adam continued to show her around the store, showing her just about every product in the store. Bye the time it was time for her to leave, Kenzie had bought more jokes supplies than she would ever need.

"And maybe next time," Adam said with a mischievous grin. "I'll show you the secret stuff in the back of the store. So I'll see you at Hogwarts?"

"Yep. Nice to meet you Adam."

"You too."

Megan was waiting outside for her daughter. "Who was that you were talking to?"

"A boy I just met. His name is Adam. I guess his dad runs that shop."

"Is he nice?"

"Yea, except for the fact that he talks like a salesman."

"I suppose that is to be expected if he is helping at that shop. Now I don't know about you, but I would like to get home so we don't have to carry around these bags any longer." Megan said, gesturing to the many bags she was carrying.

"Alright. Mountain is probably going crazy at home anyways."

As they were leaving Diagon Ally, Kenzie noticed a large crowd outside of the Quidditch shop. Glancing at the display in the window, she saw that the new broom was finally out, the Firebolt 4050. Sighing, she thought about her broom at home, a much older model of the Firebolt, it barely worked at all. Well, her broom would work for now. There was no way Mom was going to buy her a new one anytime soon. And with school starting, there wouldn't be much time at all to go flying. School…it's going to be interesting this year, Kenzie thought with a grin. She and Evan could put all of thosejokes she bought to good use. Kenzie decided right then that this school year wasn't going to be so bad after all.

* * *

**If you want a character list, review for this chapter and tell me. And if I'm confusing anyone, tell me. Maybe I can clear a few things up.  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Yay! New chapter. This is a really short one. The next chapter is really long. This lovely chapter is especially for** **Aeryn Dragon. Hope you like it. **

* * *

Chapter 9: 

"Mom!" Kenzie yelled up the steps. "We're going to be late!"

"Be down in a moment dear!"

Kenzie sat down on the very last step and sighed. It was 10:30. The train left at 11. They still had to go pick up Evan. There was no way that they were going to catch the train to school.

"What a way to start of the school year" she muttered.

She thought that she heard the sound of someone flooing in. Thinking hard, she remembered that the only fireplace in this part of the house was in the living room. Now, if she could only remember where that was exactly.

"This place is way too big." Kenzie said to herself as she wandered through the house. Finally, she turned a corner and walked straight into the room she was looking for.

"Evan!" she yelled, running to give him a hug.

He laughed. "Nice to see you too."

Kenzie vaguely noticed that his voice had a bit of a British accent to it. "What are you doing here? We were supposed to go pick you up."

"Well, I was sitting at home, minding my own business, reading _Hogwarts, A History_ when I looked up at the clock and saw that it was 10:30 already. I decided to pop over here and see what happened to you. I brought my stuff along with me" He gestured to the trunk and owl cage lying by the fireplace.

"Sorry, Mom's running a little late." Kenzie said, grabbing Evan's hand, dragging him through the maze that was called a house, searching for the staircase again. "She's still upstairs getting ready. I swear if we're late for the train, I'll..."

"You'll what?"

Kenzie turned to face her mother. "Oh, you're ready to go. Evan's here, by the way."

Megan rolled her eyes at her daughter. "I can see that. Hello Evan. Sorry we didn't come pick you up. Is all you're stuff here?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful. Kenzie, is your trunk down here?"

Kenzie nodded as she grabbed the one end of the trunk and Evan grabbed the other. Together they carried the trunk into the living room. They set it in the fireplace.

"Good, now Kenzie you go first. That's it. Keep a good grip on that trunk."

Kenzie nodded and tightened her grip. With her free hand, she took a small amount of floo powder from her mother. Within moments, her world was spinning as she watched fireplace after fireplace fly by her.

Dizzy, she stepped out into a small shop a few minutes walk from Kings Cross Station. As she dusted the soot off of her jeans, her mother and Evan appeared.

"Come on you two, we have to hurry if you want to catch the train." Megan said, grabbing Evan's coal gray owl.

"Well, if someone would be ready on time, we wouldn't have to worry." Kenzie whispered to Evan, causing him to laugh as they hurried as fast as they could in through the crowded street, their trunks being dragged behind them.

When they reached the station, Kenzie looked around for Platform Nine and Three quarters.

"Where's the Platform?"

Evan shrugged his shoulders, also clueless.

"Just walk through that barrier." Megan said, pointing at the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10.

"Are you sure Mom?"

"Positive. Now, go on, Kenz, you first, then Evan."

Kenzie shut her eyes and walked towards the wall, waiting for the worst, but it never came. She opened her eyes to find herself on a busy train platform, the gleaming Hogwarts Express puffing smoke.

"My gosh, it's nearly 11. You two need to hurry." Megan exclaimed, looking at the large station clock.

"Yes mom."

Megan pulled Kenzie into a hug. "Now, be good. I don't want any letters coming home. And make sure you write, at least once a week." She kissed her once on the top of the head before letting her go. "The same goes for you, mister." She said as she pulled Evan into a tight embrace.

"Alright, I promise to write." Evan said, grinning. "I'll try to be good, but you know how trouble likes to find me."

Megan laughed. "Fair enough. Now get going. You're going to miss the train. See you at Christmas."

The two children said goodbye and ran to get on the train. After several minutes of searching, they finally found an empty compartment. Kenzie used a levitating charm her uncle had taught her to lift the trunks up and out of the way.

"So…." she said as she plopped down into the empty seat.

"You're mom is crazy." Evan proclaimed as he took the seat across from her. "Me? Cause trouble? Since when?"

Kenzie laughed. "You never cause trouble."

"Exactly."

"Now that we have that whole problem out of the way, how about a game of Exploding Snap? I think this is going to be a long train ride."

Evan agreed and had just gotten his cards out when the compartment door slid open.

* * *

**cues scary music Hehe, a cliffie. Anyone care go guess what happens next? Next post should be up within a day or two.  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Nothing too new to day. This chapter is really, really long. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

Chapter 10: 

"Sorry. I was just looking for my friends." The boy who had just opened the door said. "I'll just…….Aren't you the girl from the books store?"

"Um, yea." Kenzie replied. "Mackenzie Pheleps. You are?"

"James Potter. Nice to meet you. Who's your friend?" James nodded at Evan.

"My name's Evan Malfoy."

James scowled. "Malfoy?

"Yes." Evan said, giving the boy a questioning smile. "Is there a problem?"

"No." James spat. "Just as long as you stay out of my way, we'll get along just fine."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Evan said, standing up.

"That means….."

"Ryan, I found him!" A girl appeared at the door of the compartment. "James, what are you doing?" James quickly turned around.

"Nothing Cass. I was just looking for Tyler."

"Doesn't look like that to me. Looks like you're tormenting these two." Cass said, shaking her head. She turned to Kenzie. "Sorry he's bothering you. My name's Cass Lupin, by the way."

"Cassidy Lupin." the tall boy standing behind Cass said. "I'm Ryan, her older brother."

"Cass." she corrected with a frown. "I hate being called Cassidy."

"Kenzie Pheleps." Kenzie said. She felt slightly confused.

"Evan Malfoy" Evan said, sitting down but still glaring at James.

"Nice to meet you both. Come on James, I think you've caused enough trouble. Tyler and everyone else are near the back of the train." Ryan said as he started to leave.

"Fine." James mumbled, shooting Evan one more look before exiting the compartment. "You comin' Cass?"

"Nah. I think I'll stay here with this lot. I'll see you when we get to school"

Ryan nodded at his sister and shut the door. Cass sat down next to Evan. "I'm really sorry about that idiot. What was he bothering you about?"

Kenzie glanced over at Evan, expecting him to answer. When he didn't, she spoke up. "It was over Evan's name."

"Oh." Cass said softly. "The git. Just ignore him."

Evan nodded, but still didn't say anything. Kenzie could tell he was mad. She gave him a look, but didn't say anything. "Is Ryan your only brother?" Kenzie asked, trying to change the topic.

"No." Cass replied. "I've got a baby brother named Josh. What about you? Got any siblings?"

"No.

"I don't have any brothers or sisters either" Evan said. "Just me and Dad at home."

"Just the two of you?" Cass asked curiously.

Evan nodded. "Yeah, Mum left when I was a baby."

"Sorry." Cass said quickly. "I should have said….."

Evan stopped her with a wave of his hand. "No big deal. You didn't know. It doesn't bother me much anyway. I don't remember her or anything."

Cass just nodded. A silence fell over the compartment. Kenzie wasn't sure if it was an awkward silence, but one that was just because they didn't have anything to say at the moment.

"What house do you think you'll be sorted into?" Cass asked suddenly. Kenzie looked up at her with confusion.

"Houses?"

Cass stared at her with disbelief. "You don't know about the houses? Are you a Muggleborn or something?"

"No. I just didn't grow up around here. I'm from Romania, you see. My mom and I moved her over the summer."

"I thought you voice sounded different." Cass laughed. "So you don't know anything about Hogwarts?"

"Nope."

"What about you, Evan?"

"Well, I know a little." He said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I've read some of _Hogwarts, A History_."

"Merlin, you don't know a whole lot then."

"I wouldn't say that." Evan replied. Kenzie stifled a laugh. Evan hated it when someone said they were smarter than he was.

"I bet I know more than you." Cass said, smiling.

"Bet you don't." Evan retorted. His face was completely serious, but Kenzie could tell by his eyes that he was just playing now. She decided to speak up before Evan scared away their new friend. "I bet she does too, Evan."

Evan smiled and shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "You're probably right."

Cass punched the air in triumph. "Ha! I thought so. Ryan's told me lots of stuff." She continued on to tell them all about the houses, teachers, and everything else her older brother had told her. Kenzie paid attention but she was sure that she would forget everything by the time she got to school.

"Hiya James." Tyler said, spewing chocolate frog all over the compartment.

James and Ryan had just come in. The very last compartment on the train was filled with boys. Noah Higgens and Adam Weasley were playing a game of chess while Scott Gisiko watched. Scott's little brother, Tyler, was currently stuffing his face with sweets. Ryan took the seat next to Scott. James shoved Tyler's pile of sweets to the floor in order to clear a seat.

"What took you so long?" Scott asked Ryan absentmindedly as he watched Adam's rook pound Noah's bishop to dust.

"James decided to start an argument or something with another first year."

"Anybody we would know?" Noah inquired, taking his eyes off the game for a moment.

"No, I don't think so. Can't remember their names. Evan something."

"Malfoy." James supplied as he unwrapped a chocolate frog.

"Yea, Malfoy. What was his friend's name?"

"Mackenzie…."

"Pheleps?" Adam finished.

"Yes." James said with a confused look on his face. "How'd you know that?"

"Well, little boy," James scowled. "That is for me to know and for you to find out, isn't it?"

"Oh, come on Weasley." Ryan said irritated. Adam always got on his nerves. "Did you meet her before or something?"

"Oh fine, Ryan. I meet her one day a few weeks ago. She was at my dad's shop. She seemed nice. Why were you bothering her and her friend?"

"Cause he's a Malfoy." James said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "So what?"

"So what? Ty, we've all heard the old stories. Don't you remember?"

"Yes, James." Tyler knew there was no use arguing with his friend. When James got a thought in his head, he stuck onto it for a long time. The older boys let the conversation drop and for a long time the boys went along playing chess and managing to eat most of the candy in the compartment. Finally, Noah stood up looking bored.

"Come on, let's go see how bad this Malfoy kid is."

"Noah," Ryan began. "Cass is there with them. Let's just leave them along."

"Even better. We won't do anything serious, just a small prank on them at the most." Noah said before turning to Adam. "Got any good stuff in your trunk?"

"Um," Adam said as he rummaged through his trunk He held up a bag. "I've got a few of these Smokebomb things my dad just thought up."

"They any good?" Scott asked, jumping to his feet.

"Of course they are."

Noah gave a satisfied nod at Adam. "Good." He turned to the younger boys. "You two comin'?"

James nodded his head eagerly, but Tyler was a little apprehensive. He glanced at Ryan, who was still sitting firmly in his seat and then to his best friend and his brother who were standing at the door. Slowly he stood up.

The boys crept down the corridor, James in the lead, trying not to draw to much attention to themselves. Ryan sighed and followed them in case they caused some real damage.

James halted them outside of the compartment. They could hear Cass's voice coming from inside. Noah pulled the door open a crack and waited. No one on the inside seemed to notice. Smirking, he looked at Adam. Adam rolled two black balls into the compartment and motioned that they should run. As they hurried back to their compartment, a gray smoke filled the one where Cass, Evan, and Kenzie where. The boys reached their compartment and shut the door as shouts were heard from the other end of the train.

"That was great, Adam." Noah said once the laugher had died down. "What was that stuff?"

"Nothing special. It just creates a gray cloud of smoke for about 5 minutes. It's perfectly harmless." he added when he caught a glance of Ryan's worried face.

"Relax, Ryan." Scott agreed. "Adam wouldn't do anything to really hurt anyone."

Ryan nodded. "Alright."

Tyler glanced out the window. "Looks like we're nearly there. Shouldn't we get our robes on?"

The others agreed and started shuffling around as they all tried to get into their trunks.

"Was that good enough for you James?" Noah asked as they were finishing up.

James nodded.

"Good. If you got any more problems, you come tell me, got it?"

"Got it, Noah." James replied as the train came to a stop.

"My brother and his friends are going to pay for that." Cass swore as they got off the train.

"How do you know it was them?" Evan asked. "And where are we supposed to go?"

"Cause I just know. They have a little group: Ryan, Scott, Adam, and Noah. I bet James and Tyler have joined their ranks by now too." Cass explained.

A male voice rung out over the station, "First years, this way, first years!"

"I think we're supposed to follow that voice." Kenzie said, answering Evan's second question.

The three of them trudged through the Hogsmeade station until they came to a short, fat man standing by a dock with many boats.

"First years?" He asked them. They nodded. "Go ahead and get into a boat."

Cass, Kenzie, and Evan climbed into the nearest boat. Much to their dismay, James and Tyler joined them a few minutes later.

"That was mean, what you did on the train, James." Cass said as the boats started moving across the water.

James smirked. "Only a bit of fun. And it was Noah's idea, not mine."

"Still, there was no reason for it." Cass argued.

"Of course there was." James glanced over at Evan.

Cass muttered something but said no more. Kenzie put her hand on Evan's arm to stop him from starting something with James. This didn't stop him though. The castle came into view and while everyone was distracted, Evan leaned over and pushed James out of the boat.

"Evan!" Kenzie yelled as James hit the water. He disappeared under for a few moments but soon came back up spluttering and cold. Tyler reached down and pulled his friend back into the boat.

James was too cold to retaliate. He just glared at Evan. Cass chuckled to herself and whispered to Evan that that was brilliant. Kenzie couldn't help but smile at image of James being pushed in.

Finally, the boats hit land and the students were ushered into a large hallway. Excited whispers could be heard all around them as they wondered what was to happen next. Finally, a tall woman wearing dark blue robes joined them. She wasn't too old, probably about her mother's age, Kenzie figured, but she had a sense of authority surrounding her.

"Quiet please." she said. Immediately all the whispering stopped. "My name is Professor Mercovitch." she continued, eyes scanning the many students. "In a few moments, you will…." her eyes were on James, who was still dripping wet. "Mister…"

"P-p-Potter." James stuttered, teeth chattering.

"Mr. Potter, why are you soaking wet?"

James glanced over to where Evan was standing but then turned his full attention back to Professor Mercovitch. "I f-fell in the l-l-lake."

The professor shook her head but pulled out her wand. In seconds, James was dry again.

"As I was saying," Professor Mercovitch continued. "In a few moments, you will enter the Great Hall to be sorted into your houses. Your house will be where you will live at your time at Hogwarts. You will gain points for good deeds and lose points for bad. At the end of the year the house with the most house points will win the House Cup. Now, I think they are ready for you, so if you will for two lines, we can proceed."

The students quickly formed two lines. Evan and Kenzie where near the back. Somehow Tyler and James had ended up in front of them. Cass was behind them. They entered a large room with tall windows and floating candles. The ceiling looked just like the night sky. There were four long tables filled with students and a staff table at the front that overlooked the students.

As the first years entered the Hall, Kenzie could feel the older students staring at them. Suddenly the line stopped and Kenzie almost bumped into the back of Tyler. The older students turned their attention to the front of the room. Through the many heads, Kenzie could see an old black hat sitting on a stool. Professor Mercovitch was stand beside it holding a rolled piece of parchment. Suddenly the brim of the hat ripped open and it began to sing.

_I know you see me as an old odd hat _

_Not nearly as nice and your new caps. _

_But first looks can be deceiving, for I am the sorting hat _

_I'll tell you where you ought to go. _

_It may be Gryffindor for you, _

_A house for those daring and brave. _

_Or it could be Hufflepuff for the ones that are patient and loyal. _

_Maybe the ancient house of Slytherin is where you cunning few make your home. _

_Or finally, it may be Ravenclaw for the young minds, _

_ Who thirst for knowledge and learning. _

_Wherever you may go, I will know. _

_So try me on and we will see, where you should be. _

The students clapped as the song ended. Professor Mercovitch unrolled the parchment. "As I read your names, come forward and put the hat on. Once it has mad its decision, you will join your table. Anderson, Melissa."

Kenzie watched as the girl was sorted into Hufflepuff. The table directly to the left of them burst into applause. Kenzie watched in amazement at the ceremony. She hadn't seen anything quite like it before. It didn't take long before the professor said, "Gisiko, Tyler."

Kenzie watched as Tyler stumbled through the crowd and put on the hat. He had barely had it on for thirty seconds when the hat cried out "Gryffindor!" The table farthest to the right yelled and cheered for its newest member.

A few more students were called forward, but Kenzie wasn't paying attention. She glanced over at Evan. He looked as nervous as she felt. "You ok?" She whispered to him.

"Yea." He said giving her a small smile. At that moment, Cass's name was called. She walked up and put on the hat. It took a long time, in Kenzie's opinion, for her to get sorted. Finally, the hat yelled, "Slytherin!"

Kenzie glanced over at the Gryffindor table and saw Ryan frowning as his sister joined the Slytherins.

Professor Mercovitch waited until the cheering quieted down before continuing. "Malfoy, Evan."

Evan walked as bravely as possible up to the hat. After a full minute, he was sorted into Slytherin also. Now Kenzie was really nervous. Both of her friends were now sorted into the same house. What if she wasn't sorted into Slytherin with them? Three more students were sorted, and then Professor Mercovitch came to her name. "Pheleps, Mackenzie."

Kenzie felt the stares of many students on her as she put the hat on. Immediately it fell over her eyes.

"Hmmm, interesting." a small voice said in her ear. "Good mind, certainly brave. Gryffindor wouldn't be a bad place for you, especially considering your family history."

"Family history?" she whispered. Deciding that wasn't important at the moment, she thought of her friends in Slytherin.

"Ah, want to stay with your friends? Alright then. Slytherin!"

Grateful, Kenzie ripped the hat off and ran to take the empty seat next to Evan. The next person to be called was "Potter, James." The put the hat on his head and almost immediately it sorted him into Gryffindor. Kenzie saw Cass roll her eyes at this. "Knew it. "she muttered.

There were only a handful of students left to sort. "Look over there," Cass said, pointing to the Gryffindor table. "You see that blonde hair boy?" Kenzie and Evan both nodded. "That's Noah. And the boy sitting next to him is…"

"Adam Weasley." Kenzie finished for her. "I met him at Diagon Ally." she added, seeing Evan's confused look.

"There's my brother and his friend Scott. They're a little group. Noah is in charge, sort of."

"Well, Potter and Tyler are sitting with them." Evan observed.

Before either Kenzie or Cass could respond, the headmaster stood up. "Professor Barrington." Cass whispered to them. The Headmaster was an older man, tall with short gray hair. He wore dark red robes.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts!" he said. "Just a few announcements before I let you eat. First off, thanks to Professor Thadmian for meeting the first years this evening. The Care for Magical Creatures professor is feeling under the weather and was unable to handle it. He should be fine in a few days, of course. Secondly, the caretaker would like me to remind all of you that there is a rather long list of items that are banned from Hogwarts posted on his door, if any of you would like to take a look. The Forbidden Forest is off limits, as always." He looked over towards Ryan and his friends. "And congratulations to William Weasley and Heather Barr for becoming new Head Boy and Girl. I'm sure they will do a fine job. I believe that is all the announcements for now. Tuck in." Professor Barrington sat back down.

Kenzie heard Evan let out a soft gasp. Turning back towards the table, she saw it was filled with a large array of foods. Throughout the feast, Cass informed them about who all the different teachers were and what Ryan had said their classes were like. It was true when she had said that her brother had told her a lot about Hogwarts. Eventually the conversation got back to James.

"What is this group that Noah runs?" Evan asked as the table cleared and deserts filled the dishes.

"Nothing much." Cass replied. "Ryan says they play pranks and stuff. Not much else. Adam gives them the supplies for it."

"I have a feeling that we're going to be the target of their pranks." Evan muttered to Kenzie.

Kenzie nodded in agreement, but was too sleepy to answer him. It had been a long day. She was glad when Professor Barrington stood up again and said it was time for them to retire to their dormitories for the night.

They followed a Prefect down the steps towards the dungeons. They went through a series of corridors that Kenzie was sure she wasn't going to remember tomorrow. Finally, they reached a blank wall and stopped.

"Basilisk Blood." The Prefect said to the wall. Immediately it opened up.

Amazed, Kenzie walked in to see a large room with tables, chairs, and sofas scattered around the room. There was a fire burning nicely in the fireplace.

"Boys rooms are on the left, girls are on the right." The Prefect said in a bored voice.

After saying goodnight to Evan and promising to meet him in the common room in the morning, Cass and Kenzie trudged up the stone steps to the girls' dormitories. There they found their belongings waiting for them. Quickly they changed into their pajamas and climbed into bed. Kenzie fell asleep with in moments of her head hitting the pillow

* * *

**Ok, I think now you've met just about every important character. Which one is your favorite? **


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Look, a new chapter. I apologize for taking so long to post this. It's not the greatest chapter, but it's something.

* * *

Chapter 11:

"James…James," James heard a whisper. He bolted up and looked around into the darkness. He couldn't see a thing.

"Who's-" he started to say. A hand jumped out of the dark and covered his mouth.

"Quiet," the owner of the hand hissed.

"What's going on, Scott?" It couldn't possibly be time to get up yet! James could hear the grandfather clock downstairs ring twice.

"You'll see," Scott said mysteriously. "Follow me and don't wake anyone else up."

James yawned in quiet protest, but padded softly down the cold stairs behind Scott. He could hear voices whispering at the bottom. Waiting for him in the common room were Noah, Ryan, Adam, and Tyler. Noah and Ryan were in the middle of a very quiet argument, Adam was looking bored, and Tyler... well, Tyler was asleep in an armchair.

"What's going on?" James asked.

"Shhh!" The collective whisper came from all five of the other boys' mouths.

"Start of term prank!" Noah said, looking painfully excited. "Ryan, you and James take the third and fourth floors. Scott, you and…" Noah glanced over at Tyler, who was currently snoring. "Well, you can take the fifth floor by yourself. Adam and I can handle the first two floors."

The boys trudged out of the common room, leaving the sleeping Tyler behind. James was feeling more and more confused by the second. Still, he followed Ryan down to the third floor.

"What are we doing?" James asked finally. They had been walking in silence for quite a while, stopping at every suit of armour so Ryan could cast a spell.

"You'll see tomorrow," Ryan said tiredly. "I don't see why we have to do this at two in the morning," he added.

"Um… won't we get caught?" James asked quietly. 

Ryan laughed. "Nah…the teachers don't expect anyone to be up at this time of night right before the start of term. No one is patrolling. Why? You worried about getting caught?"

James shook his head, but then realized that Ryan couldn't see him in the darkness, "No, just curious."

"I don't know why Noah insisted that you come along," Ryan said after awhile. "It's not like you can do much."

"Hey!" James protested. "I can do magic too you know!"

Ryan rolled his eyes. " Sparks don't count."

"Yes they do."

"I don't think so."

"Yes."

"Whatever."

"I won," James said happily.

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Argh! I give up with you," Ryan said before stopping to charm another suit of armour.

"Ryan?" James asked.

"Yeah?"

James stifled a yawn. "We almost done?"

"Just...about…," Ryan said, finishing the charm on the last one. "Now we're done."

"Good, now we can…" James stopped in middle of the sentence and groaned.

"What?"

"Walk the long way back…"

"No, we don't," Ryan said simply as he started to walk determinedly down the corridor. James had to run to keep up.

"What do you mean no? What are we going to do, grow wings and fly? Or how about we just apparate?"

"Or how about we skip right to Option C and take the secret passage," Ryan said, pulling back a tapestry to reveal a small corridor.

"That works, too," James murmured in awe.

Barely ten minutes later James and Ryan reappeared in the common room.

"Should we wake him?" James asked, pointing at Tyler, who was now drooling and muttering something about pink killer marshmallows.

Ryan just shook his head. "Leave him. He'll be fine 'til morning."

James yawned and started up the steps.

"'Night, James," Ryan said quietly.

"G'night Ryan," James replied, shutting his door as the clock struck three.

* * *

"Where's Evan?" Kenzie asked the next morning. She and Cass were sitting in the Common Room waiting to go to breakfast."He'll get down here soon, I hope." Cass muttered, staring longingly at the door. 

"I swear he takes longer than my mother to get ready to leave." Kenzie grumbled. "And that's saying something."

"Now Mack," Evan said, appearing at the bottom of the stairs. "Isn't that being just a little harsh? Surely your mum takes longer than I do. I believe she was the one that almost caused us to miss the train yesterday."

Kenzie rolled her eyes and Cass giggled.

"Now, I don't know about you ladies, but I'm starving. How about we go to breakfast?"

The girls agreed and the three set off for the Great Hall. They wandered around the dungeons for ages, trying to find the way.

"Does anyone know where we're going?" Kenzie asked in frustration.

"Not a clue." Cass said with a sigh.

Suddenly, several screams could be heard from above.

"How about we follow the screams?" Evan asked unnecessarily before taking off in the direction of the noise.

* * *

"Mr. Higgens, do you realize how much chaos you and your friends have caused?" Headmaster Barrington asked.Noah smiled and looked out into the entrance hall. Students were being chased by suits of armour that were shouting random words at them. It was mass panic. "Yes, sir, I do believe I have a small idea." 

"Good, then I think you should understand when I that this was unacceptable and you need to fix it."

"I'm sorry, sir."

Professor Barrington looked a bit baffled. "You're sorry why?"

"I can't fix it."

"What do you mean you can't fix it?"

"It will wear off by the end of the day. There's not a counter-curse."

The professor sunk back into his chair. "Fine." he said with a little shake his head. "Mr. Higgens, you and your accomplices," He pointed to Ryan, Scott, Adam, and James, "shall receive two nights of detention and have letters sent home to your families."

The boys groaned.

"Now boys, don't complain. I could have taken off house points, and seeing that you are all in the same house, that would have been devastating. But, if you still think I am being unfair, I can certainly take a few points from each of you. Let's say about 50 each. That should cover the fact that you snuck out of bed last night and charmed over 50 pieces of antique school property."  
"No….no, the detention alone is fine, sir." Noah stuttered, paling at the idea of losing over 150 points on the first day. "Come on, guys." He yanked his friends' arms. The boys scurried back to the Gryffindor table before they got into deeper trouble.

* * *

"Boys!" Cass groaned when they had finally made it to the Great Hall. 

Evan stopped laughing long enough to reply. "Relax, even I have to admit that was a good prank."

Kenzie nodded in agreement. "Charming the armour was pretty smart."

The three sat down at the Slytherin table. Kenzie could see Noah and his followers talking to Headmaster Barrington at the head table. After a few moments the boys left and the professor stood up.

"Attention!" He called out. The students immediately quieted down. "I have to ask that no one panics about the suits of armour. The people in charge of the prank have been caught and informed me that it is completely harmless. Unfortunately, it will not wear off until this evening." The students groaned. "The staff and I ask that you just try your best and ignore the armour the best you can. Now, your Heads of House will come around and hand out your schedules and you may head off to class."

The man that had met them at the boats the night before was now working his way down the table handing out schedules to students. As soon as Cass looked at hers, she groaned.

"What?" Kenzie asked.

"We've got half our classes with the Gryffindors."

"What?!" Evan exclaimed. He grabbed his schedule to look for himself.

"Potions, Charms, Defence, and Transfiguration."

"Four classes with James, just great." Evan muttered.

"Maybe it won't be so bad…" Kenzie said trying to be optimistic.

* * *

"Who said it wouldn't be so bad?" Evan asked that night after dinner. "Oh, shush." Kenzie said irritably. "It was an honest mistake. I didn't think he'd actually do anything.""I tried to warn you." Cass said. "Look on the bright side; at least you don't have three eyes anymore." 

"Who in the world tries a random spell out of the book on a person on the first day of class?" Evan muttered. He tossed his bag on the floor.

"Obviously Mr. Potter," Kenzie replied. "Cass, didn't you tell us to ignore him?"

"Yeah, he'll back off eventually, I hope." Cass said, shaking her head. "If not, I could talk to him. Or we could try and get him back. He's being a real git. Wait 'til his mother hears."

Evan laughed. "Revenge-that might be nice."

Kenzie agreed. Getting a little revenge on James for the nasty stuff he had done in the past two days might not be too bad at all.


End file.
